Govt, 3 PSUs to set up $2 bn equity fund for renewables

The New and Renewable Energy Ministry has already processed the proposal and sent it to the Finance Ministry to initiate a USD 2 billion clean energy equity fund to push renewable energy capacity addition as envisaged by the central government.PTI | November 03, 2016, 08:26 IST

New Delhi: The Centre, along with state-run power entities NTPC, REC and PFC, will soon launch a USD 2 billion clean energy equity fund to support the government's ambitious target of adding 175 GW renewable energy generation capacity by 2022.

"New and Renewable Energy Ministry has already processed the proposal and sent it to the Finance Ministry to initiate a USD 2 billion clean energy equity fund to push renewable energy capacity addition as envisaged by the central government," a senior official in the know said.

"The fund should be launched soon, within this fiscal, as all the spadework has been completed by the New and Renewable Energy Ministry after discussing it at a length with NTPC Ltd, Rural Electrification Corp (REC) and Power Finance Corp (PFC)," he said.

Ahead of the Paris climate talks in November last year, Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal had said that the central government is planning a USD 1 billion private equity fund for the renewable energy sector.

"We are planning a USD 1 billion private equity fund for renewable energy sector, initially seeded by government companies," Goyal had said during the 'Talkathon' event on the Paris conference.

"The government is also seeking to collect USD 4 billion per year in the next 3-4 years for a clean energy fund," he had said.

The official further said: "Initial seed funding will be done by the central government to set up this fund from the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund.

"The state-run NTPC, REC and PFC will also pitch in to create the fund."

“To save the environment and to fight climate change, my government has planned a major campaign. By 2022, we want to generate 175 GW of renewable energy. In the last three years, we have already achieved 60 GW or around one-third of this target,” he said.